Business travel is usually an exercise in packing light so you can move fast. It means not carrying a big suitcase — road warriors definitely do not check their bags — and it means not carrying a heavy briefcase.

One way to lighten your load is to stop carrying papers. Many offices are trying to cut back on paper usage, especially since a lot of it gets thrown away or recycled, and the rest gets stored away, likely to never be seen again.

Here are five ways to eliminate paper from your business travel, and your life overall.

1. Use a business card scanner.

You can cut down on the number of business cards given to you by scanning them as soon as you receive them. Use an app like Evernote or FullContact to scan the cards. It takes a few seconds for each card, and then you can pitch the card or give it back to the person who gave it to you.

Then with an automation service like If This, Then That or Zapier, you can sync those scanned cards up with your phone’s contacts, Google Contacts, or LinkedIn profile.

2. Use an app to scan in all documents you receive.

If you’re given a contract or even a meeting agenda, you can scan it quickly with Scannable and send it to yourself or upload it to your favorite cloud storage service. Tag it with a few keywords to remind you what the document is about, and you can always find it later on. Then just give the original back to the other person, or recycle it immediately.

3. Ask people to email PDFs and Docs to you.

If someone hands you a printed piece of paper, there’s a better than 99% chance they created it on a computer. And if they did that, they can email a copy to you instead. Which means there’s no reason to carry the paper around in the first place.

Most office people use Microsoft Word, which creates small documents that can be easily emailed. Even Apple users can open a Word document in Apple’s Pages word processor, which means both Windows and Macintosh users can open them.

Ask for all meeting agendas, notes, and other documents to be emailed to you instead of being printed out, and be sure to do the same thing for them.

If you don’t want people to be able to change or edit your document, export it to a PDF. It’s under the File –> Export menu in both Pages and Word. Then just send the new copy onto whoever needs it, and store your version in the cloud or on your hard drive.

4. Use Docu-Sign to sign contracts.

If you’ve ever had a contract emailed to you, you’ve probably been told you need to print it, sign it, scan it, and send it back.

You don’t. At all. With an app like Docu-Sign, Adobe Reader, or even Preview for Mac, you can open the emailed contract, sign it electronically, and email it back to the sender. You haven’t created any paper, and the signature is just as legally binding as if you wasted part of a tree to do it. Plus, if you use something like Docu-Sign, the document is time stamped with your signature as well. You can even import a real signature as a jpeg and drop it in, so it looks like you actually did print and scan it.

Docu-Sign works on your phone, tablet, or laptop, and you can save your signed contracts to your favorite cloud storage service, rather than stuffing it in a filing cabinet for later referral.

5. Store and share your documents via the cloud.

If you’ve got important documents you need to save, whether you’ve scanned them in via Scannable, or someone sent you a PDF or Word document, you can save them to a cloud-based service like Dropbox or Google Drive, which are easily accessible as long as you’ve got a wifi connection. Save all your documents to the cloud service and then just access them as you need them.

But just because the documents are in the cloud doesn’t mean you’re cut off if you don’t have wifi. Dropbox creates a folder on your laptop and stores a version of your documents there; it stores the original if you’re the one who created the document. And it’s possible to use Google Drive offline with a simple change.

Share documents with colleagues electronically, keep documents you might need later, and make changes and upload the updates at your convenience. Additionally, several people can work on a single document at once on Google Drive (Microsoft 365 does this as well), letting you make changes and updates together.

Finally, Google Drive can open Microsoft Word documents, so you can ask your colleagues to share documents with you in Google Drive and you can open them there.

You can adopt a paperless practice for your business travel if you just follow these steps. Ask people to email documents to you, but scan them in when someone hands paper to you. Sign contracts electronically so you don’t have to keep a real copy, and store everything in the cloud so you don’t have to lug it all around in case you need it.

Bonus: Never print out your tickets; always use your airline’s app

Rather than printing out your boarding pass at home, or printing it at the check-in kiosk at the airport, just download your airline’s app, and check in 24 hours before your flight. When you get to the airport you can use the special code on your phone to scan your way through security and onto the plane.

How do you go paperless for your business travel? Do you just carry big notebooks around and hope you might need the paper, or have you embraced the 21st century and gone on a paper fast? Share your ideas and techniques with us on our Facebook page, or on our Twitter stream.

If you’re traveling for the holidays, whether you’re flying or driving, remember you’re working with a limited amount of space in the car or your suitcase. You’re taking enough clothes for several days, probably heavy enough to keep warm in the winter. (Although we barely have to wear coats down here in Florida. Just pointing that out.)

And many people try to pack their gifts so they can save money. They end up spending more money instead and creating more of a hassle for themselves. There are several ways you can lighten your load and still get everything you need to where it needs to be.

1. Don’t check your bags.

If you’re traveling for more than a week to stay with relatives, the big mistake many travelers make is to pack one or two big suitcases and check them through to their destination. Everything goes into the bags, including kids’ clothes, gifts, and one outfit for each day they’re going to be gone.

And then, because literally millions of people are traveling for the holidays, your luggage could get lost or delayed, which means you’re without your clothes, gifts, toiletries and so on, at someone else’s house. If you’re going to check your bags, then be sure to pack at least one change of underwear, your toiletries, and your medication into your carry-on bag. (Be sure to stick your laptop and electronics into your carry-on as well.)

You’re better off streamlining your packing and fitting everything into a carry-on and taking that onto the plane. If your kids are five or older, they’re allowed to carry on their own bags. So you can pack their clothes into their carry-on, and let them be responsible for their own stuff.

The next four tips will help you pack light, so you can avoid checking your bags.

2. Pre-plan your schedule and plan your clothes around it.

Look at your schedule and plan out your days. Many people will pack a nice outfit, “just in case” they go somewhere fancy for dinner. Don’t do that. Either plan for the dinner out, or just don’t go to that level of restaurant.

Similarly, don’t take other “just in case” outfits, like whether you might go skiing or might go paint balling or might go to a museum. If you plan your schedule, you can be sure whether you need to take those clothes or not.

3. Remember you can double up and wear your clothes more than once.

Don’t pack one outfit per day. If you’re going to be gone for seven days, you don’t need seven pairs of pants and seven shirts. You can wear your pants at least twice or even three times, and the same could even be possible for some shirts.

Sure, you’ll need enough undergarments, like underwear, t-shirts, and socks but you can even cut down on those items if you can do laundry at least once while you’re there. Just make sure you have some laundry facilities available to you; double-check before you leave. In a pinch, you can always wash your underwear and socks in a hotel sink. Just get a very small bottle of detergent when you arrive, although some hotels may sell them in their lobby shop.

4. Ship your gifts early.

Don’t pack your gifts in your bags to try to save money. Most airlines charge $25 for your first bag, and $50 for a second, and you’ll probably end up carrying enough gifts to require a bag. If you shipped most of your gifts ahead a few days early, you’d spend as much as you would on a couple of checked bags.

You could also order gifts online at Amazon or other ecommerce stores, and pay to have them shipped. If you have Amazon Prime, which is $119 per year, you could get free shipping throughout the year. But if you had planned on spending $150 in checked bag fees, you could save yourself quite a bit of money by spending it on Amazon Prime instead, and doing all your holiday shopping a few days before you leave. Follow all these other tips, and you can use carry-ons and save all your checked bag fees, which will more than pay for your Amazon Prime membership.

5. Wear your heavier items.

If you’re going somewhere cold for the holidays, don’t pack your heaviest items, wear and carry them. Wear your boots and pack your normal shoes. Your boots will take up an awful lot of room, plus they’re likelier to be dirty and get grime on your clothes. Just remember to pack your shoes in shoe bags so you don’t transfer dirt then too.

You should also dress in layers for warmth, instead of wearing a giant parka. Thin layers are easier to pack and take up less room than a single coat. But even if you take a heavy coat, carry it through the airport and then wear it as you’re boarding the plane. It’s not officially a carry-on item then, and you can always take it off and stow it once you’re on the plane.

How do you travel for the holidays? Do you pack everything and pay the charges, or do you try to travel as light as possible to keep things easy. Share your thoughts on our Facebook page, or on our Twitter stream.

The Transportation Security Administration (TSA) is starting to look at luggage in a whole new way. A way that’s faster, more efficient, and will get you through the security checkpoints much faster. It’s called 3D screening and it looks at your blag in three dimensions, not the traditional two.

In other words, if you wanted to take a large suitcase, or even check a smaller carry-on, it could cost you anywhere from $50 or $60 for your first bag, and $100 for a second.

But as travel and luggage professionals, we know that many of these checked bags are only necessary because people don’t know how to pack wisely. They make common rookie mistakes like:

Packing one outfit for every single day. This is especially bulky if you’re going to be gone for more than five days. Solution: wear certain items more than once.

Packing things “just in case,” like a dressier outfit in case you go to a nice restaurant. Solution: Confirm your dinner plans before you leave to ensure whether you will or not.

Packing individual, complete outfits. Solution:Pack mix-and-match outfits. If you’re traveling for four days, take two pairs of pants that go with each of the four shirts.

Packing every comfort of home, like pillows or full bottles of shampoo. Solution: They have pillows at your destination. Also, buy your shampoo or other lotions, etc. when you arrive. I guarantee they don’t cost $100.

One way around the checked bag fee is to upgrade to an Economy Plus ticket, from the basic economy. Or use a credit card that gives you one free checked bag as one of your perks.

But the best way to ensure you never pay a checked bag fee again? Get a 21″ or 22” carry-on bag that will let you pack up to a week’s worth of outfits (as long as you pack correctly.)

When Travelpro’s sourcing and design teams travel to China for two-week trips, none of them check luggage. They can do so because they know that any of Travelpro’s suitcases will accommodate their needs, and they’ve perfected the art of traveling light. Travelpro specializes in making carry-on models that accommodate multiple days of clothing in one bag. The MaxLite® 5, Crew™ 11, and our brand-new Platinum® Elite collections are designed with features to help travelers pack efficiently and effectively,

regardless

the length of the trip.

You may not be headed out on the road for two weeks, but if your travel plans take you away from home for business or leisure this summer, scrutinize your clothing and luggage choices so you don’t waste money on unnecessary baggage fees.

Just because you’re not traveling first class doesn’t mean your clothes can’t. Upgrade your traveling experience when you purchase from the new Travelpro® Platinum® Elite Collection — available exclusively at Travelpro.com through the end of June.

This new 17-piece collection of soft-sided luggage features the PrecisionGlide™ System, which offers precise control and an effortless roll. Three patented features function as an integrated system — just the kind of thoughtful innovation you’ve come to expect from Travelpro.

Travelpro Platinum Elite Vintage Gray

The Contour Grip has cushioned touch points to help alleviate stress on your hand for greater comfort and control. The PowerScope Extension Handle, made with airline-grade aluminum, is lightweight, yet durable and adjusts to four set heights while minimizing wobble. The MagnaTrac® Dual Spinner Wheels are self-aligning, allowing them to roll straight in any direction for excellent maneuverability when you can’t afford to slow down.

The Platinum® Elite Collection features smooth-gliding Spinners and Rollaboard® suitcases, as well as garment bags and personal totes for overnight trips and weekend getaways. Constructed of superior, scuff- and scratch-resistant fabrics with leather accents in online-exclusive colors and all backed by the new Built-for-a-Lifetime Limited Worry-Free Warranty, you’re sure to find the perfect piece of luggage to elevate your travel experience.

The Platinum® Elite Collection warranty “guarantees the functional performance of each piece against defects in material and workmanship for the life of the bag”. Additionally, the new Trusted Companion Promise element offers additional coverage like reimbursement of shipping cost if the product needs to be shipped to an authorized repair center for repair and it also covers the cost of repair for damage caused by an airline or other common carrier as long as you register your bag within the first 120 days of purchase or gift receipt.

Travelpro Platinum Elite

Another design feature created to meet airline regulations is the integrated USB port, which includes a zippered exterior pocket to store your power bank while you charge and use your electronic devices. Your power bank can be removed quickly and easily from the bag’s exterior, allowing you to continue using it during the flight while your bag is stowed in the overhead bin.

From the grab and go, lightweight Platinum® Elite Regional Duffel with built-in strap, easy-access front and back slip pockets for essentials and a roomy interior that accommodates packing cubes, to the sleek, top-of-the-line 29″ Expandable Spinner with fold-out suiter, integrated accessory pockets, and interior tie-down system, this collection has everything you need to elevate your packing game to the highest level—the elite, one might say—with Platinum® Elite.

Have you ever found yourself scheduling a business trip in an interesting city, and trying to find a way to see some interesting sights in the city? Have you ever tried tacking an extra day onto your trip, or even extending it over the weekend? This is what’s called bleisure travel, the combining of business and leisure.

Expedia Media Solutions and Luth Research found that 43 percent of business trips are actually some combination of business and leisure, and 70 percent of business travelers report doing so every two to three months. According to a similar survey conducted by the Global Business Travel Association, those taking advantage of these opportunities aren’t who you might expect.

Only 33 percent of those between the ages of 35 – 54 said they extended their stays for vacation, while even fewer of those 55+ — only 23 percent — did so. The group with 48 percent participation in bleisure travel were the 18 – 34-year-old business travelers.

Researchers weren’t able to say why definitively, but they speculated this younger group values traveling on someone else’s dime, having a weekend to explore a city when their employer has already picked up the airfare tab, and paying a lower negotiated rate for accommodations by staying at the same hotel they did while they conducted business on the company’s behalf. Expedia’s senior director of owner services stated that 84 percent of bleisure travelers stay in the same hotel they did for business, and the number one reason they move is because they can get a cheaper deal elsewhere.

The GBTA also said employers should encourage bleisure travel as a way to demonstrate they understand this demographic’s stated need for work-life balance.

So, how do you take advantage of a business trip and seize the opportunity to incorporate some leisure into it? Go in early or stay late. If you have business in a particular destination you’d like to explore, consider going in the weekend before those Monday and Tuesday meetings. You might become a hero to the accounting department by negotiating a lower rate because your stay is longer than the typical two-day booking made by most business travelers.

You could also schedule your business on Thursday and Friday and stay over the weekend, paying the same hotel rate and booking a cheaper return fare on Sunday. You may even be able to use the frequent flyer miles you’ve accumulated through other business trips to bring along loved ones or a friend, thereby reducing the cost for those you want to share your vacation time with.

Special Travelpro Bleisure Promotion

Platinum Magna 2 21 Expandable Spinner Suiter

If you’re considering a bleisure trip and you find yourself in need of new luggage, Travelpro has an extra incentive. Between now (Tuesday, May 1, 2018) and Friday, May 4, 2018, purchase any piece of luggage from the Travelpro website and receive a free, foldable nylon tote. This small, compact bag is great for carrying on those fun mementos from that bleisure trip that might otherwise not fit into your normal carry-on luggage.

Are you a bleisure traveler? How do you combine work and business travel? Do you have any suggestions or favorite destinations? Share them with us in the comments below, on our Facebook page, or in our Twitter stream.

It’s hard to remember a time when it was a struggle to lug your luggage through an airport, but it did exist. Travelers had to literally manhandle their suitcases using the handles throughout the airport and to hoist 30 – 40 pound bags onto and off baggage carousels. But everything changed when one airline professional grew weary of the process and decided he could make it better.

Northwest Airlines 747 pilot, Bob Plath, crisscrossed the globe a thousand times over, suitcase in tow. He’d seen firsthand what happened to his luggage and those of others over time and saw the toll it took on travelers hauling it through terminals. He thought there had to be something better.

When he discovered there wasn’t, he invented it.

Travelpro Crew 11 Collection — with both spinner and Rollaboard bags

What Plath created in his garage in 1987 was completely revolutionary. Before his brainchild, all luggage was oriented horizontally. Heavy, inflexible suitcases with handles on top that had to be carried through airports. The only other integrated rolling option was a horizontal model featuring four small wheels and a strap for pulling, that collided with your heels due to the poor balance and ergonomics. Plath’s innovation began with reorienting his bag vertically, and placing larger, stable wheels and a retractable handle system.

Soon fellow pilots and flight attendants began asking him to make what he coined the Rollaboard® for them. When passengers began noticing and asking airline personnel where they had purchased their bags, Plath moved the operation out of his garage into a 185,000 square foot warehouse. He left Northwest in 1991 to focus solely on what has become the industry standard in luggage and the precursor to all other upright, wheeled luggage rolling through the world’s airports.

The Rollaboard changed travel in several fundamental ways:

Airport security procedures and equipment were standardized to accommodate increased use of carry-ons.

Airlines reconfigured their fleets with overhead storage bins that could hold the new carry-ons.

The struggling luggage industry was revived as travelers replaced old horizontal luggage with the much easier-to-use Rollaboards®. Other manufacturers scrambled to develop products that would compete with the new standard.

The tourism industry also received a boost as travel was simplified for everyone, regardless of their conditioning or physical limitations.

Are you old enough to remember those hand-carried suitcases? Or are you fortunate enough to have never been saddled with them? Do you have any great stories to share about the first time you ever used a Rollaboard, or the last time you hand-carried your luggage? Share them with us in the comments below, on our Facebook page, or in our Twitter stream.

The operative word in luggage shouldn’t be “lug,” and Travelpro knows you need the freedom to pack everything you need without being weighed down as you navigate the airport terminal, hotel lobby, or cruise ship gangplank. The Maxlite® 5 Collection — the result of its latest efforts in innovation, functionality, and durability — is up to half a pound lighter than its predecessor, the Maxlite® 4.

Basically, it weighs as much as your average Chihuahua.

At just 5.4 lbs., the Maxlite® 5 21” Exp Spinner and 22” Rollaboard® retain all the quality materials, rigorously tested durability, and thoughtful design you’ve come to expect from Travelpro’s collections. It just weighs less so you can thoughtfully pack as much as possible without being concerned about your bag adding excess pounds to your business trip or vacation.

While other soft-sided luggage might seem lightweight, words such as strong, tough, and durable mean what they say when we talk about the Maxlite® 5 Collection. Built using lightweight materials that resist wear and tear, even through the most rigorous use, this Collection has 16 options, from carry-on totes, garment bags, and backpacks to smooth gliding Rollaboard® and 4-wheeled Spinner models in multiple sizes, Maxlite® 5 is a comprehensive assortment.

Just because you’re choosing Maxlite 5 doesn’t mean you’re sacrificing anything! Let’s start with the Rolling UnderSeat Carry-On, which, just like its name implies, fits under seats of most major domestic airlines. With its many compartments and specially-designed pockets, such as a removable plastic compartment for cosmetics, office supplies, or electronics accessories, you’ll be so organized you won’t know how you ever traveled without it.

The 21″ Expandable Spinner and 22″ Expandable Rollaboard maximize your packing power and allow you to glide through security to your gate on their high-performance wheels. Both are only 5.4 pounds, and for those who are planning longer getaways that necessitate checking your luggage, the 25″ Expandable Spinner is only 7.3 pounds.

All bags feature Travelpro’s DuraGuard® coated fabric that resists water and stains, as well as extra strong PowerScope Lite handles on rolling models and many pockets to help you pack to the max. All are backed by the Built For A Lifetime Limited Warranty. In addition, if you register your bag within the first 120 days of purchase or gift receipt the new Trusted Companion Promise enhancement gets activated which covers damage caused by airlines or other common carries for the first year! That’s a major warranty upgrade!

If you’re traveling abroad and want an ultra-lightweight carry-on that will go the distance, check out the Maxlite® 5 International Carry-On, both in 2-wheel Expandable Rollaboard® and 4-wheel Expandable Spinner models. Both models meet the carry-on size restrictions for most international airlines, you’ll find either of these compact but capable, allowing you to travel light and travel right.

All models in the Maxlite 5 Collection are available in black and exclusively on Travelpro.com in midnight blue, and other color options include azure blue, slate green, and dusty rose.

Need to catch a few winks during your next flight? Sleeping well on an airplane can seem as elusive as sighting a unicorn, but we’ve tapped an expert, Heather Poole, one of our earliest sources for stories and a Travelpro professional user. Heather is an 18-year veteran flight attendant, and author of the book Cruising Attitude: Tales of Crashpads, Crew Drama, and Crazy Passengers at 35,000 Feet, for some pro tips.

You may know that seatguru.com will allow you to investigate which seats recline and which ones don’t on every airplane on your itinerary. But did you know that beyond seat choice, the side of the plane you book matters? We’re creatures of habit: each night we have a preferred side of the bed we choose for slumber. Turns out, the same principle applies in the cabin of a plane.

Choose your seat on the same side of the plane as your favorite side of the bed. If you like to sleep on your right side, pick the right side of the plane, especially if you’re getting the window seat. This will guarantee that your position in your seat will mimic whatever direction you face as you begin your sleep journey.

Let’s talk about the cumbersome donut pillow. While you may scoff at those who carry it along like a teddy bear because it didn’t work when you tried it behind your neck, your opinion of the sleep aid may change if you change where you place the fat part of the pillow.

If you tend to tilt your head to the side as you drift off, position the pillow there. If you want to keep from being awakened by that annoying, and slightly embarrassing head jerk, rotate the pillow the hold your chin in place! Sweet dreams may be further enhanced if you spritz a bit of lavender oil, known to help your body relax, on the pillowcase.

Finally, travel with a baseball cap, even if you only wear it on the flight. You don’t have to incorporate it into your outfit, but having it may create just the right environment for snoozing. Joshua Craven said he pulls the bill down over his face and inserts earbuds shortly before the flight takes off (but, of course, after the safety demonstration announcement has been completed). It shields his eyes from light and he has an enhanced sense of privacy because the hat covers his face. Plus, people immediately get the hint that you’re not interested in conversation so you can avoid having your sleep interrupted.

How do you sleep on a plane? Do you have any special tips or tricks that help you catch a quick catnap on your air travel? Share them with us in the comments below, on our Facebook page, orin our Twitter stream.

If you received smart luggage for Christmas, we don’t mean to spoil your new year, but three major airlines — American, Alaska, and Delta — have already banned suitcases and carry-on bags that are equipped with integrated lithium-ion batteries and external charging ports.

The ban goes into effect January 15 on American, Delta, and Alaska Airlines, even as United Airlines says they will soon follow; Southwest Airlines is reviewing their policy as well. Delta’s statement cited “the potential for the powerful batteries to overheat and pose a fire hazard risk during flight.” American declared its internal safety team evaluated these bags for necessary “risk mitigation” and deemed they “pose a risk when they are placed in the cargo hold of an aircraft.”

The Crew 11’s built-in power port is a great way to keep your mobile devices powered up and ready to go, but you can still remove the battery.

Before you return your smart luggage, make sure your replacement bag has the option where the battery can be removed or disconnected. Even if you toss the battery into the main compartment of the luggage, you can carry the bag onto the plane with you. But it has to be removable.

Travelpro has two Collections which feature a dedicated exterior power bank battery pocket which allows users to insert their own battery, connect a charging cable, and make use of an external USB port. Because the battery is not provided by the company, nor is it integrated into the hardware of the suitcase’s frame, travelers can remove it at any time within seconds. This puts all Travelpro’s luggage in compliance with any airline or FAA policy, current or future.

The collections which feature the dedicated power bank exterior pocket and external USB port include:

Crew™ 11 Softside and Hardside Collections, available in various carry-on models including the 21″ Expandable Spinner and 22″ Expandable Rollaboard® Suiter